Mark Wahlberg loved competing with Russell Crowe

Mark Wahlberg loved battling it out with Russell Crowe in 'Broken City'.

The 41-year-old actor had a blast competing with the 'Les Miserables' star on the set of their new crime thriller in which they play bitter rivals.

He told Total Film magazine: ''I had to give up a piece of my deal to get other people, just because the budget was fairly tight. Russell and I got to go at each other and really try to outdo each other, not necessarily as actors, but as characters. It was fantastic.''

Mark claims 'Broken City' is a throwback to the 70s thrillers he grew up watching and although he usually stars in laugh-a-minute comedies like last year's hit caper 'Ted', he thinks it's important to touch upon more serious subjects such as corruption in local government like his new film does.

He said: ''It's like] 'Serpico' and all those movies I grew up watching. It's important to remind people that the Academy Awards have been filled with adult-themed movies that have been very successful. 'The King's Speech', 'The Fighter'... Even if you look at this year, with 'Lincoln' and 'Argo'...''